Why Your Mission Statement is the Key to Your Business Success

A mission statement is Business 101.

We all know what it means and most of us have thought ‘what’s the point in having one’ at some point in our lives. Typically, businesses will ignore the concept entirely, claiming it is outdated and no longer relevant to business success or businesses will have a mission statement but their business activities no longer reflect their core ideology.

Ultimately, your mission statement is WHO you are (values), WHAT you do (mission) and WHERE you are going to go (vision). As a small business, have you ever stopped to define your pioneering vision? It is likely you had one when you started, otherwise how else did you end up as a business owner? If you do know your mission statement, does your team? If you went up to any member of your team and asked them ‘why are we in business?’, would they answer with conviction? Would it reflect your ultimate vision?

If you or your team cannot define who you are, how can your customers?

To be most successful, it is imperative that everyone in your team is rowing in the same direction. Business owners must work with employees to ensure their individual objectives align with the overall mission, vision and values of the business to ensure the entire team are striving in the same direction. A great place to start is to have a team day where all employees can openly discuss what they see as the company’s future. Together you can agree on your mission which will shape your strategy, branding and communication guidelines.

Once everyone in your high-performance team is striving towards the same ultimate goal, you as a business owner can redistribute decision-making safe in the knowledge that your employees will manage and represent your organisation’s core ideology at the center of every decision they make. Companies with a clear vision are less likely to make rash decisions in response to competition and fluctuations in the marketplace. Furthermore, your mission statement can clearly distinguish your business from competitors, especially if your employees embody every value you want your company to stand for.

The SRK Team will be running a half marathon on the 10th of December to raise £5000 for Railway Children – a charity that helps protect lost and vulnerablechildren from exploitation and abuse. Like Railway Children, we believe in a world where no child ever has to live on the streets. Please join us in helping to raise £5000 to make this vision a reality.